While streaming sites show some growth (mainly due to the younger demographic), artists and independent labels continue to suffer from what is (at best) a flaky business model.

What the music industry needs right now is innovation and a fresh start. It needs a Bob Dylan strapping on an Electric Guitar, It needs a Woodstock, it needs a Punk Rock style ground zero revolution.

In developing AudioCoin we looked at the problems facing the Music Industry and by thinking laterally to include the financial eco-system surrounding the business, we were able to come up with a model that is both truly revolutionary and perhaps more importantly, ethical and fair.

Our remit was to empower and engage music lovers all over the world and to break down any barriers that prevent music consumption even in third world countries. It needed to unshackle the need for young music lovers to borrow their parents credit cards to use iTunes or Spotify. Most of all it needed to create a global and ethical music ecosystem that was robust, exciting and open to everyone.

AudioCoin builds on the Peercoin and (by association) Bitcoin protocol to provide a new way to consume music. It breaks down the barriers of traditional e-commerce systems and provides a super cool way for music fans and artists to engage in viral marketing. The main gain is that artists (producers) and music fans (consumers) are rewarded tangibly and thereby rendering the current streaming model both archaic and redundant.

So what is AudioCoin and how does it work?

AUDIOCOIN (ADC) – Real World Application from Launch

Crypto-currencies have been plagued by two opposing forces. The proliferation of speculative new coins and (obtusely) a lack of real world applications other than profiteering on virtual exchanges. When the first idea of AudioCoin was mooted, our main goal was to put the application specific features at the forefront of our thinking.

As a solution for a particular vertical (The Music Industry) the coin has been developed so that the core software and applications can be ported to any other online music related platform. Our IP consists of the way we have applied open source software into a bespoke solution that can be plugged in to any other site.

Case Study: Aurovine

Aurovine is a direct-to-fan music delivery platform and distributor. Streaming, Downloads, Artist Profiles, Fan Profiles and Social interaction are core features of the platform.

AudioCoin has been integrated into the system as follows:

Artists and Fans who register on the system are provided with an online (or virtual) mobile compatible wallet. The wallets are also available as standalone downloads that can be run on any users computer. The wallets are used to store their credits (AudioCoins). Coins are automatically added to the wallet as soon as the user registers. Users get coins for joining the platform and further coins for engaging with and sharing the content via their chosen social media channels. Artists are rewarded in the same way when their music is streamed, downloaded and shared.

ArtistsEach Artist who is registered on Aurovine and has uploaded tracks gets 250 coins.Limited to the first 50,000 artists. Earns further coins from sales/streaming/shares (see below)Artist at top of charts every week gets share in bonus bounty

Users (Fans)On joining they get 50 coins – When account activated and first share completed.For purchases/streams coins distributed as per below.

a) StreamingThe requirement to claim coins is that the track must be at least 50% streamed and then shared using our listen/rate/share feature. (Our system prevents spamming and multiple hits from same IP. The requirement to share via verified twitter/facebook will go some way to securing this system) For each valid share 0.5 coins will be transferred to artist wallet and 0.5 coins will be transferred to fan wallet. i.e 1 coin total for each social media channel.

In addition there will be 0.1 coins transferred to the bonus wallet for each verified stream.

B) Downloads (Paid)There is no requirement to share for a paid download although the option to share for bonus coins as above will be presented at checkout/confirmation page.For every paid download (track) 2.5 coins will be transferred to fan wallet and 2.5 coins will be transferred to artist wallet. In addition 0.5 coins will be transferred to the bonus wallet.

For album/ep downloads (3 tracks or more): 10 coins will be transferred to artist wallet and 10 coins will be transferred to user (fan) wallet. In addition 1 coin will be transferred to the bonus wallet.

c) Downloads (Free)Same requirements and rewards as streaming.

The ‚’bank’ or bonus coins are to reward power users and artists. The top 50 artists and users each month will share the contents of the bonus wallet. Top User 5% of bonus Wallet, Top Artist 5% of bonus wallet. 2nd 4.5% etc on a declining scale until contents of bonus wallet are empty.

We will also award coins for competitions, double coin days etcWe reserve the right to adjust reward values to reflect ADC value.